After the morning classes came lunch and break time.
Yu Ge went to the cafeteria alone and ordered a few dishes that looked delicious. Since S-Class students got a special discount, it didn’t cost him much.
“Wow, this is so good.”
“This one’s good too.”
Yu Ge tried a bite and let out a heartfelt sigh of appreciation. The food was every bit as good as you’d expect from the head chefs at an elite academy. Ever since he’d arrived in this World, he’d been dirt poor, and he couldn’t sell his cards. He’d been living on simple rations just to fill his stomach, so this meal tasted especially good.
“Hey, look. That transfer student’s sitting over there all by himself.”
“Yeah. Think he doesn’t have any friends?”
“Ha! How could someone like that have friends? He groped Goddess Saya’s chest on the first day of school.”
“I’m in his class. He was talking in his sleep during the lesson just now.”
“Hahaha, he’ll probably be ostracized until graduation.”
A few boys sat not far from Yu Ge, whispering about him with teasing looks on their faces. But Yu Ge didn’t hear a word. His attention was entirely fixed on the delicious food in front of him.
“If anyone’s willing to sit down and have lunch with him right now, I’ll eat this plate.”
A boy with short black hair finished his meal, then grinned as he tapped his plate with his fork.
“Um, can I sit here?”
Just as the black-haired boy finished speaking, Luna passed by them with her tray. She walked over to Yu Ge.
“O-Of course you can.”
Yu Ge recognized the familiar voice and looked up. When he saw Luna, he immediately tensed up and hurriedly nodded. He even wiped his mouth to make sure he looked presentable.
“Holy crap, is that Luna?”
“Am I dreaming?”
“Luna sat down across from the transfer student?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
The boys were so shocked to see Luna sitting across from Yu Ge that their knives and forks fell to the floor. The black-haired boy who’d just said he’d eat his plate twitched, then grabbed his tray and hurried off without even waiting for his friends.
“I think Luna and the transfer student have something going on.”
Just then, the S-Class boy from earlier leaned over and whispered to the group.
“What makes you say that?”
Everyone looked confused.
“During class just now, the transfer student gave a completely off-topic answer. We made fun of him a little, and Luna actually got so upset she started crying.”
“W-What? How’s that possible?”
They were so shocked they nearly flipped the table. That was going too far—there was no way they could believe a story like that!
“I swear, if I’m lying, I’ll drop dead right here.”
The S-Class boy nodded with complete seriousness. The news had already shocked all of S-Class, and it’d probably spread throughout the whole academy soon.
“That guy’s a total jerk. First he takes advantage of Goddess Saya, then he starts flirting with Luna. Do girls really like idiots like him now?”
“Luna, you’re barely eating. You’ll make yourself sick. This steak’s really good.”
While the whole cafeteria watched Yu Ge and Luna and whispered among themselves, Yu Ge glanced at Luna’s tray. She had only a small handful of vegetables and a pitifully tiny portion of rice, so he moved a piece of steak from his plate onto hers.
“Th-Thank you. I-I don’t really eat much meat.”
Luna quickly thanked him in a quiet voice. The person across from her had saved her life, so her thoughts couldn’t help wandering elsewhere. Before she knew it, her cheeks had turned red.
“Look! Luna’s blushing!”
“Luna’s blushing while eating with the transfer student!”
“They’re totally dating, aren’t they?”
“Damn it! Why him? A beautiful girl like that, wasted on a pig.”
“I wonder why Goddess Saya let him into S-Class.”
“Speaking of that, I heard Goddess Saya let him into S-Class so she could keep an eye on him. She’s probably planning to make him pay little by little.”
“Makes sense. If someone touched my chest, killing him would be letting him off too easy. I’d make him wish he were dead.”
Luna’s adorable, blushing face nearly melted Yu Ge’s heart. The students watching from nearby were in an uproar too. Luna had never blushed in front of anyone else before.
“Don’t be jealous. That guy’s going to meet a nasty end soon. Look, Goddess Saya’s here. She’s probably about to deal with him.”
A brown-haired boy pointed toward Saya, who had just entered the cafeteria. She looked around, spotted Yu Ge, and walked straight over to him.
“Thank you for saving my life yesterday.”
Only now did Luna express her gratitude. She’d been hesitating because she didn’t know when to bring it up.
“Didn’t you already…”
Yu Ge blinked. Why was she thanking him again? She’d already thanked him before class. He was about to wave it off and say it was nothing, but as soon as he raised his hand, someone patted him on the shoulder.
“Senior Saya?”
“Saya?”
Luna looked surprised when she saw the person standing behind Yu Ge. Yu Ge turned around and saw Saya standing there with her arms crossed, looking down at him with a faint, amused smile.
“Yu Ge, don’t forget our agreement.”
Saya gave Yu Ge a gentle smile. To Luna and the others, it was beautiful beyond words. To Yu Ge, it looked like the smile of a demon.
That girl was warning him.
Yu Ge immediately understood. Before he’d entered the academy, Saya had laid down three rules with him. He wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about the cards. She must’ve found out what he’d been up to and come over specifically to remind him.
If he broke the rules, he’d be expelled from the academy—and he wouldn’t get to spend time with Luna anymore.
After weighing his options, Yu Ge could only force a smile.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility for what I promised.”
Yu Ge was inwardly beside himself. What could he do? He was desperate too.
“Good. I won’t keep you two from your lunch.”
Saya left with her trademark smile, leaving Yu Ge sitting there with his own smile frozen on his face, at a loss for what to do.
“Wait, the transfer student has an agreement with Goddess Saya?”
“Goddess Saya doesn’t look like she’s planning to torment him.”
“Yeah. She smiled at him so sweetly.”
“And the transfer student just said he’d take responsibility for her.”
“Could it be an engagement…?”
“Unbelievable! The transfer student’s engaged to Goddess Saya and still goes after Luna? What a shameless jerk!”
A male student not far away angrily pounded the table.
“Um, Luna, what was that thing you mentioned yesterday? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yu Ge turned back to Luna, who looked completely confused, and gave an awkward smile.
“I mean when you used a Magic Card to save my life?”
Now Luna was confused too.
“I-I didn’t do that.”
Yu Ge really wanted to tell Luna that he was the one who’d saved her life. But the confidentiality rules left him no choice but to lie, and he was a complete mess inside.
“But you’re the only one who knows that Magic Card exists. No one else does, and I couldn’t find it in any of the books I checked. How do you explain that?”
Luna blinked, thoroughly confused, and could only voice her own theory.
“Oh, I saw it in a really old book. As for that Magic Card, Holy Barrier—Mirror Force, I’ve never seen it before.”
Yu Ge turned his head to the side, inwardly grumbling. You’re way too sharp.
“Um, Yu Ge, I don’t think I ever said that Magic Card was Holy Barrier—Mirror Force?”
Luna picked up on the slip in Yu Ge’s words and immediately realized he was lying to her. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, thoroughly displeased.
“Uh, I’m full. I’ll be going.”
Yu Ge was at a loss for words. Crap, had he really given himself away? He jumped up and ran off without even taking his tray.
“Honestly, why did he have to run away?”
Luna sighed helplessly, stood up, and picked up her tray along with Yu Ge’s. She headed for the trash can nearby. As for Yu Ge, she’d have a proper talk with him during the afternoon practical lesson.
“Holy crap, Yu Ge went after Goddess Saya, and Luna’s cleaning up his tray for him?”
At that moment, the male students in the cafeteria who’d been watching Yu Ge and Luna all felt as if ten thousand grass-mud horses were galloping through their hearts.
